AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5950, 22 March 1880, Page 3

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

. IKTEEOOLONIAIi. Pleuro-pneumonia is still causing s3rious loss to stockowners in Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. The following letter appears in a recent issue of the Melbourne Leader-. “Sir, —Cattle have been dying from pleuro-pneumonia for the last ,three weeks in this district, and the carcases are left lying along the creek. No stops appear to be taken by the Stock Department, although the disease has been repprted.— Yours, &0., Stockowxee. Bulla, Feb. 24. [We learn that pleuro is also prevailing amongst the cows at St. Eilda.— Ed. A.”] Grasshoppers are unpleasantly plentiful in the south eastern part of South Australia In some places they have appeared in myriads, and are e ding mp every green thing. The orchards especially are suffering, and many of the trees are already stripped. South Australian potato growers are thinking seriously of exporting potatoes to England. The London Lies Stock Journal says, in its issue of Jan. 16: —Mr Finley has pur chased two young bulls from the Hoik ap .- herd, for exportation to Australia. I older of the pair is a roan, Sept. 1878, nar a ' Duke of Barrington 9th, a eon of Dul ;e 0 p Gloucester 7th 39,735 and Countess of Jfap. rington Bth.' The other is Baron Wii JJome - •6th, a son of Duke of Gloucester 7lh f g yjg, from Winsome 19th. ’ ’ Mr David Riddel, of Blackball, p^] eT (sajs an English paper), has sold to ’ j£j- Jbha Tr astral, of Melbourne, three entire ha'ses The Duke, the Scotch Carle, and F one four years, the other two I arse years • each, for close upon £IOOO. Mr ' frsstr-al has ■ also bought from Mr Peter < Jrjiwford, of Dumgoyack, the celebrated ho J 7ari }. oej . six years, which obtained the Highland So-'-ciety’s prize and the first prize a j' t ' ae Qj as . gow Show in 1878. Gleanings, - Earners who have money command cannot easily put it in a mor i profitable investment than judidious oui iay on i&eir farms. Draining wet land is estimated to return from ■ forty to eighty per cer.t on the yearly cost. In the same way good stock pays far better than, poor, good fencing, well’ selected fruit trees, carefully looked after homesteads, all repay the money laid out, and besides all" that add immensely to the comfort of the occupier. . The food supplies from America include" nearly every article required for the table. Last year a considerable number .of turkeys, ducks,, geese, prairi hens, &o, as well as a quantity of game and venison, were exportedfrpm'Oaiiada and the United States to Liverpool, where they found a ready and remunerative sale; and this year the importa-" tion.of poultry, &c., was carried on to a large extent.

After long coaxing, with no little use o?’the ■ whip, we have seen a balky horse started by ' putting a lump of earth in its mouth. Thfe J mind of the animal seems to be sot on not going, and the point to be gained is to divert it from the idea entertained, and this the earth in the mouth does effectually. So soon as the horse gives its attention to the getting of the earth out of its mouth, it forgets its balkiness, and can be started. —American Agriculturist. The Italian Minister of Agriculture gives an account of experiments which have been made at the Experimental Station at Florence to the effect that butter, purposely not freed from buttermilk, kept perfectly sweet for upwards of three months by the addition of about 8 per cent, of borax. It is stated that the borax should be dry, in fine powder, and thoroughly mixed with the butter. A friend of ours is experimenting with both borax and boracio acid, in butter, and will in due time

report results. 'Dressing seed wheat with acid, as a preventive against rust, has been tried with, success in England. We have also satisfactory accounts of the results of this dressing from Queensland. Although the season for sowing wheat, with the exception of the April .variety, is past, we may state, with reference to future operations, that the •method of treatment is as follow .—Use No 5

carbolic acid, four ounces to two gallons of

water (cost of carbolic acid, 9d); this quantity is sufficient for four bushels of wheat. No bluestoue or anything else is required. Method of application;—Spread a sheet of tarpaulin on the ground, place the wheat thereon, which spread well out; then apply the mixture through the nozzle of an ordinary watering pot, taking care to distribute the solution fairly all over the wheat} then mix the wheat thoroughly with a shovel, so that no seed will escape being saturated or moistened with-the mixture ; if this be done

at night, the seed may be sown next morning. There is no fear of the carbolic acid destroying the germinating power of the wheat. In the event of rain sotting in and preventing immediate sowing, it can with safety be kept a few days without injury.